17 weeks 1 day

Hi guys :)

Yesterday was 17 weeks for me and little Tiddle. Pretty soon we will know what he/she is and will be referring to it by its actual name! This past week has gone by really fast, and it's crazy to think that I'm almost half way thru this whole thing.

As of this week, our baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — his/her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Tiddle weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and is around 5 inches long from head to bottom. He/She can move his/her joints, and sweat glands are starting to develop.

Each week as I learn what is going on and what new feature is starting to develop it opens my mind to the incredible complexity of what it takes to make a human and this little life that is growing inside of me. God's imagination and creativity are amazing things :)

Here's a pic of what the baby looks like this week:

And here is me this week:

16 weeks, 3 days

Hello faithful followers :)

This past Friday I hit the 4 month mark. Only 5 more to go! I'm pleased to announce that we finally have our appointment set to find out if Tiddle is a boy or a girl! I've got the sonogram at 7:45 am on April 12 in Arlington, then it's over to Mansfield at 1:15 pm for an appointment with my OB. Can't wait!

Here is the latest as of week 16:

It's time to get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, Tiddle baby will double his/her weight and add inches to his/her length. Right now, he/she's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. The legs are much more developed, its head is more erect than it has been, and the eyes have moved closer to the front of its head. His/her ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of its scalp has begun, though its locks aren't recognizable yet. Tiddle's little toes have even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, the heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as our baby continues to develop.

I was looking at the image below (what the baby looks like right about now) and it's crazy to think that is's a teenie tiny little human being with all of the working parts! And it's inside of my body right now! So unbelievable and amazing :) Hold your hand out flat and (depending on your hand's size) imagine a little bitty human laying in it. It's kind of a lot to take in! And here is one of me getting pudgy :)

15 Weeks

It's amazing to believe that I'm just a few short weeks shy of being half-way through my pregnancy! It is really flying by fast now that I'm feeling better. As of today, I'm 15 weeks 3 days and it feels great to be a couple weeks into my second trimester! Last Friday and Saturday I switched to a different sample of prenatal vitamin that I got from the doctor, and they caused some pretty crazy dreams. I know that around this time, dreams are a normal side-effect of pregnancy, but it was only on the nights that I took the new vitamin that I experienced some pretty violent dreams. I switched back to my normal (but crazy expensive) vitamin Sunday night and voila! No more crazy dreams!

I had a doctor appointment back on the 8th and everything was great :). We got to hear Tiddle's heart beating away in the 140s where it should be. He/she didn't want to cooperate tho and kept running away from the heartbeat monitor. Once the nurse got him/her to calm down we got to hear the little thump for an exciting few seconds. I really want to go get one of those heart rate monitors so that I can listen in whenever I want! Our next appointment with the doctor isn't for about a month, and shortly after we will have our gender-identification ultrasound! Eeee! I can't wait!

Here's where we are at with the developments of week 15:

Our growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). He/She's busy moving amniotic fluid through its nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. Legs are growing longer than the arms now, and it can move all of its joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still fused shut, our little bean can sense light. If I were to shine a flashlight at my tummy, for instance, it's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for Tiddle to taste at this point, but he/she is forming taste buds. Finally, if we were to have our ultrasound this week, we may be able to find out whether Tiddle is a boy or a girl. Although I'm super anxious/excited to find out, I'm glad we will be waiting just a little longer to give it a little more development time to make sure we get the sex right. Hopefully he or she isn't modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods" :)

Here's a picture of what the baby might look like at around this time:

And here's what I look like at around this time (super flattering outfit, I know):

14 weeks

I know I'm behind, but here is what you would have heard from me a couple weeks ago if I were on top of things :)

Week 14's big developments: Our baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, facial muscles are getting a workout as its tiny features form one expression after another. Its kidneys are producing urine, which he/she releases into the amniotic fluid around itself — a process it'll keep up until birth (As Amanda pointed out to me, "Your baby is peeing in you!" haha. Indeed). It can grasp, too, and if we were to have an ultrasound now, we may even catch Tiddle sucking its thumb. Our next sono won't be for a while tho.

In other news, the little one is stretching out. At week 14 from head to bottom, it measured 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighed 1 1/2 ounces. Tiddle's body is growing faster than its head (no more alien baby!), which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of the 14th week, arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body. (The legs still have some lengthening to do.) It's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over its body. Our baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though I can't feel any tiny punches and kicks yet, our little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Only about a week until I am allowed to get that wonderful massage Russell got me for my birthday, can't wait!!